Talk Early, Often To Avoid Drama

12/10/2012

Cinderella’s wicked stepmother kept her away from her father and kept her in poverty. As lawyers, we are not trained to advise on the emotional aspects of a second or subsequent marriage on the adult children of a prior marriage. We do, however, often become involved in the disputes between family members after a death, particularly if the decedent was the wealthier spouse in a marriage to his or her children’s stepparent.

The emotional and financial toll that estate litigation takes on family members is something we can at least try to avoid, forestall or minimize by advising our clients to make thoughtful plans about who will inherit from them, when they will inherit and who will be in charge of the estate.